visually exhausted

I just returned from the Kaffe Fassett workshop today. I decided to use the tulips, and before lunch I was very pleased with the lay-out.



After lunch I wasn't so sure any more.


The workshops ends with KF commenting on everybody's work. He said he would not use the tulips, because they stand out too much. He suggested taking a textile dye pen, and reworking the background of the tulips a bit (polka dots, litlle flecks of color ...). On the other hand, several other ladies in the workshop did like the tulips... I am confused, visually and otherwise exhausted right now. Sorry the picture with Kaffe Fassett in front of the quilts is a bit shaky. Somehow picture taking was just a bit too much today.
I don't feel like finishing this piece at all at the moment. I am a bit discouraged. Probably just fatigue, and maybe a good night sleep will help. Most likely I am not a patchworker at heart. I love playing with the colors, but all the cutting and sewing scares me.
Before I forget : the exhibition in the Modemuseum in Hasselt is very nice. Check it out !

ugly hat and scarf

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I confess, this is not knitted from stash. As if I would have such nasty colored acrylic in my stash ! My DD asked me to knit this for her. Here in Flanders, there is a tradition called 'Chrysostomos'. The lastyear students in highschool dress funny, make fun of teachers and other students, and celebrate that the end of their highschool years is approching. It's also called 'the 100 days'. The theme to dress this year was 'proud to be wrong'. I guess 'wrong' here ment 'wrong colors', and had nothing to do with morality. DD even baked pink and green waffles. Hey, we're Belgian after all.

knitted from Scheepjeswol 'Roma' - hat is knitted with 3 strands of yarn, scarf with 2 strands. It went fast, but still 3 nights of knitting. DD made the pompons. And the yarn was maybe ugly, but rather nice to work with (for an 100% acrylic). I didn't have any 8mm double pointed needles, so I used 'magic loop ' for the first time. I actually learned something from this project !

Dit is niet uit mijn voorraadkast gehaald, en ik heb mijn belofte dus niet gebroken. Alsof ik 100% acrylic in huis zou hebben ! Dit is gebreid om 'Chrysostomos' te vieren. Meer info op wikipedia vind je hier : http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysostomos. Bedoeling is om je te verkleden, gek te doen en te vieren dat je nog maar 100 dagen verwijderd bent van het einde van de middelbare school. Het verkleedthema dit jaar was 'proud to be wrong' - dus hoe gekker hoe beter. Mijn dochter heeft de wol gekocht, en de pomponnetjes gemaakt. Bovendien heeft ze roze en groene wafels gebakken om uit te delen. Die zagen er afgrijselijk uit, maar waren best lekker.

Gegevens : Scheepjeswol 'Roma' - muts gebreid met 3dubbele draad, sjaal met dubbele draad.

looking for artyarns supermerino 113

Wanting to knit a small shoulder shawl I found the 'canopy forest shoulder shawl'. Just the ticket to use up stash - 2 skeins of Artyarns supermerino in color 113 (shades of brown). Unfortunately I ran out of yarn on the bindoff row (sorry, no picture yet).
Does anybody has some leftover yards lying around ? It would help me out tremendously ! (of course I could rip back and make it a bit shorter, but I am afraid this won't work, because this is already a rather short shawl...
Or is there another solution ? Bind of with a different yarn ? I have been going through my stash (and it is a big stash), and I cannot find anything suitable.

a first try at a lay-out for the Kaffe Fassett quilt

Last saturday I posted about the upcoming Kaffe Fassett patchwork workshop. Nancy commented that the white in the sheet with the big tulips Iwanted to use would be a too big contrast. I have been cutting large blocks this week in the hobby club (every thursday afternoon), and arranged some to see how it looks. Nancy is right.
The tulips won't work for the large blocks. Re-arranging, I wanted to look if they would work for the medium block. This quilt is designed with 3 sizes of blocks, large-medium-small.

I think it might work, if I use fabric around it that has a little bit of white in it.
Or maybe I should reconsider, and not use the tulip sheet at all. Which would be a pity, because I really wanted to build a quilt around the tulips.

about Hanne Falkenberg ...

The first time I saw a Hanne Falkenberg sweater was in Copenhagen in 1998. It was in a shop called 'sommerfuglen' . The shop is still around, and it's worth checking their website (www.sommerfuglen.dk). At that time, I found the garments to be lovely, but a bit scratchy. I have grown up knittingwise since then, and although I would not consider the yarn to be supersoft, I now quite like it. It has that crisp, crunchy shetlandwool feeling.

I had been longing to try out a Hanne Falkenberg sweater since ever since, and I finally bought my first kit (Da Capo) when I was on holiday in Aarhus, Denmark in 2002. The great thing about buying there was that they had all the sweaters on display, and that you could actually try them on. I was in love with Pagode, but decided that it didn't look good on me. I am short and very round, and this is a long coat for tall people. Ballerina and Jazz looked good on me too, but I had to make a choice.

In 2003 I bought a second HF kit on Ebay (Delta). This was not a good decision - I hadn't tried it on, but thought that any HF sweater would be fabulous on me. I had good customer service from the vendor, but nor the colors nor the model worked for me. Of course, I only realised this when I finished knitting it. (it's also the only HF sweater that doesn't get me compliments when I wear it). It's not on her website any longer, but you can still buy it through Sommerfuglen. Mine is in curry, khaki and turquoise.

I kept searching on Ebay for other HF kits I liked and in colorways I liked. In 2004 I bought Ballerina and Jazz'on Ebay. When the Jazz kit arrived, I decided I didn't like the colorway. It was n° 3 Dusk/Cyclamen (dusk is a nice dark blue with purple/pink flecks, but cyclamen is a bit too bright hot pink). And then I heard that a collegue was travelling to Copenhagen, and I asked her to go to 'Sommerfuglen' and bring me another kit LaStrada. So I bought 3 HF kits in 2004 !

I started LaStrada right away, and finished it in 3 months. I knitted colorway 7 - black, rust, grey-mix, curry. That was it in 2004. Apparently I can only knit one HF a year. It's a lot of knitting, and sometimes requires more then average concentration.

In 2005 I decided that I could not let the other 2 HF kits gathering dust on my shelf, and I started Jazz. I resolved the color issue, by swapping the colors from the 2 kits. I bought 'Ballerina' in color 13 - blueberry and black, with accents of pea green and cyclamen. I used the black and blueberry to knit Jazz. Of course, I didn't know if I had enough to knit this kit. But I figured, with Ballerina being a long swing coat, and Jazz a short boxy jacket, I would have enough of the main color (blueberry). And I still had a bit of black leftovers from the previous kit, so maybe that would even out ? HF doesn't list the required amount of yarn in her patterns. The kits are made up to contain enough. Turned out that I didn't had enough black yarn. I decided to order some shetland yarn online (http://jamiesonsshetland.co.uk/). I carefully compared yardage, and ordered some 'spindrift' yarn. Turned out a perfect match - the same weight, the same feel, and even the same black. They also had a color named 'Dusk' so I ordered that too - seems a perfect match again (but I haven't used it yet). My suspicion is that HF uses Jamieson spindrift in her kits. Jazz took me more then a year to complete (sept 05 to jan 07), but then I have struggled with 'frozen shoulder'.


So that leaves Ballerina to be knit. Of course, now I don't have enough to knit it in the intended colors. I'll have to make up my own colorway. I am thinking of knitting this with 'Dusk' as a main color, but I don't know if I will have enough. And I could use blueberry, cyclamen and pea green as accent colors. I have also found some other colors in my stash of shetland yarn that will work. This will be fun !

One lesson learned though : try the garments on - and decide on the color 'in the flesh', so to speak. It looks like I will be travelling to Scandinavia this summer.
I am looking forward to visiting shops that carry HF designs and try on some of the newer models. I have my eye on Diva, Mermaid and Tivoli. I don't think I will actually buy a kit now, but I can save up for next year !

Not much knitting going on here ...

I have had a very busy last week and weekend, so I really had no time to knit anything that needed my concentration. Also a bit of train travel on the menu for this week, which prompted me to start another sock.
I know that I said 'no black socks' for DS, but this was in my stash, and I made this resolution to knit up stash ... It's charcoal actually, not really black. Lana Grossa Meilenweit Tweed, color 107 to be precisely. Bought in Berlin, february 2006. And I used a purl 3, knit 1 rib on the cuff and foot.

WEDSTRIJDJE !
Ik lees altijd de commentaren bij mijn blog, maar heb nu pas gemerkt dat bij mijn vorige 'sokpost' van 25 november '06 Gonny mij het patroon van een simpele sok vroeg. Nu gebruik ik al lang geen patroon meer, wegens 't zit gewoon in mijn hoofd. Dit uitschrijven zou een hele klus worden. En ik ben oorspronkelijk vertrokken van engelstalige patroontjes. Heeft iemand een link naar een goed NL-talig patroon ? Uit de inzendingen wordt een prijs geloot - iets uit mijn voorraadkast, de winnaar zal de keuze krijgen uit verschillende opties ! Links doorsturen kan nog tot einde januari.

kaffe fasset is coming to Belgium

... to the 'Modemuseum'in Hasselt. And he is teaching a patchwork and a knitting workshop. I signed up for both.
First up : the patchwork class. Now, patchwork is fairly new to me, I have only made one quilt before (also a Kaffe Fassett design).
It was the 'Rice bowls' quilt. More experienced quilters will have a lot to say about the finishing, but for me it's all about working with the colors.
This time we will work on the 'tapestry garden' quilt. Kaffe Fassett wants us to combine big bold flower prints. I have an old sheet with big tulips on it, and was looking in my stash what to combine with it.

I could go for pastels... but it is too sweet, not opulent enough;

... or for golden yellows. Maybe a bit to yellow ?


... but I have chosen this. I have bought some extra fabrics of course. I bought some in my local yarn and fabric store (the owner will be attending the workshop too). I bought the fabric with my store credit, build up in the last year, so I got it practically for free. I felt I needed a bit more orange, and to cut down on costs I bought 2 sheets with big flower prints, for a grand total of 20 euro. So I have a lot of fabric for not too much money. I am not sure about the smaller prints though. Probably not bold enough.

Voor yarnlot - ik vond je e-mail adres niet op je blog. Waar woon jij ergens ? Als je wil kan je me mailen - ik vond jouw japanees haakwerk heel erg geslaagd. En wat een werk om in de Noro wol te knippen tot je de juiste kleurcombinatie hebt gevonden. Well done !

swatchtitis

.... the irresistible urge to swatch new projects. This 'knit from your stash' really helps me to look for possibilities in my oddball stash. I bought some handspun very fine singles in Stockholm, summer 2005. The name of the store is 'Anntorps Vav', a very nice small shop in the old center (sorry, no picture !). She does custom dyeing too. The yarn has no label, so I really needed to swatch. I was hoping to get a short lace cardigan out of it, but with my size and what I have on hand, that's not going to happen. I will need to frog this, and think of something else. I got the pattern for the 'canopy forest shoulder shawl' as a present, so maybe that's an option.

first finished object of 2007

I did finish the Jaywalkers socks, and hope to wear them soon. They are drying as I speak. This colorway wasn't too colorfast, my hands and needles came out stained after knitting with it. That's why I decided to give them a good wash first.

I frogged the brown socks. I didn't like the tiny cable in that dark color. And I lost a bunch of stitches when a needle slid out of the wip (work in progress) in my purse. I'll need to find a pattern better suited to this yarn.
I have also been inspecting my stash.

This is the cupboard in my livingroom, filled with oddballs, or special yarns, just enough for small projects. It's next to my TV, so when there's nothing on, I can admire my stash.

To keep my resolution of knitting from stash, I swatched with a variegated cotton paired up with some Rowan kidsilk haze. I bought the cotton in Venice in 2005.

The name of the shop was Lellabella, very nice but expensive. The kidsilk haze is from my local yarnstore, 't Wolwinkeltje in Leuven. (I must write one day about the yarnstores in my home town). The idea was to knit 'Tamarah', but my swatch learns me that that won't work. So now I'll have to think a bit more about what to do with these yarns.

And the jawbreaker cardigan is 'on hold' now. I finished the back, but am having second thoughts about the front. They are cut away, and slant towards the neck opening. I am wondering if this look will work on somebody who is not as flat as the model in the magazine.

not so mindless socks

I love to knit socks when I am inbetween projects, when I am stuck on a project, and when I am travelling. I use socks as a mindless project, I don't have to think about it, I can just knit and relax. So, when travelling to Torino, naturally I started a pair of socks.
I bought some sock yarns from 'storm op zolder' on the Stitch and Bitch event in Rotterdam.


The blue one is for my Secret Pal 9; the orange one is for my friend Jane in Texas, and the black/olive/sand yarn was destined to become a pair of socks for my son. To my surprise he didn't like the colors (but it has black in it, and olive !).
So I decided to start a pair of socks for me - I settled for the 'jaywalker socks'.

Now usually I knit my socks on 60 stitches, but this pattern calls for 76 stitches to cast on. OK, I thought, maybe this pattern has not much give, so it makes sense to cast on a bit more stitches. But when I had knitted the cuff, it looked soooo big, that I decided to decrease to 68 stitches. Well, let me tell you, this pattern calls for 76 stitches for a reason. And I only realised this when I had knitted the first sock, and tried it on. I could not get the sock over my heel. So frogging the first attempt was in order.
As my need for simple, mindless knitting was not satisfied, I cast on for another sock.

This is 'fancy rib socks', from the 'subscriber only' part of the Interweave knits website, knitted in Knitpicks 'essential'.
My second attempt at the 'jaywalker socks' resulted in another failure, that only got noticed when the decreases for the toe didn't add up. The zigzag pattern is formed by increasing on both ends of the needle, and decreasing in the middle. Somewhere I managed to increase without the corresponding decrease. I knitted a complete foot before this came obvious. So frogging the foot back to the heel flap was in order.
I have knitted this sock for the 3d time now - so I really got lots of knitting time for my money. And for the good order : it is entirely due to me not paying attention. There is nothing wrong with the pattern.

Looking back on my 2006 knitting ...

I can state that this was a good year. One of my New Years resolutions at the start of 2006 was definitely to use up more yarn then to acquire new yarn.
I used up :
- 104 balls of yarn . Making 2 blankets really helped here. They were completely knitted/crocheted from stash.

I bought or received as a gift/swap :
- 66 balls of yarn.
I bought an additional 20 balls of yarn that went out as presents immediately (so technically I didn't add these to my stash).
All in all, the balance is positive. I knitted up 38 balls more then I added to the stash. In 2005 I only slightly knitted up more then I bought (If I remember correctly it was something like : 130 knitted/115 bought).

My resolution for 2007 will be to knit from stash even more. I don't know if I can keep to a strict yarn diet (like Wendy), but I really want to knit more from stash. I have yarn for at least another 20 pairs of socks, numerous bags, scarves, hats, shawls.... enough to keep knitting for a long time. I also have 4 sweater kits (2 Vivian Hoxbro, 1 Hanne Falkenberg, 1 Kureyon). Maybe I can refine my resolution to use the oldest yarns first...
The jawbreaker cardigan I am working on now is a good example. Some of this yarn was in my stash for ages ...

In 2006 I knitted a grand total of 28 items.
(When looking back on the items I have knitted, I see that I knitted 10 items with yarn that I have acquired in 2006. I guess new yarn always is more appealing...
I won't tell you how much I have spent on yarn. Let's just say that it equals buying 2 CD' a month.
I bought yarn in the 2 local yarn stores, but I bought even more yarn abroad (I tend to bring yarn as a souvenir). A resolution could also be to buy more yarn in my local stores (they need to survive too). For instance, I bought sock yarn in Berlin in February, but I can get the same yarn in my local shop. So what's the point ? The yarn I bought in Stockholm on the other hand, is so unique that I could not get it here locally.

My finished objects :
For Dear Son :
- 2 scarves (one in a cashmere/wool blend, one in a camel/wool blend, both not satisfactory to him - not the right color, lenght, width, weight... I guess he just doesn't like scarves)
- 3 pair of socks
For Dear Daughter :
- 1 pair of socks (she doesn't go trough her socks as fast as my son)
For the home :
- 1 crocheted afghan, 1 log-cabin knitted afghan.
For me :
- 2 hats
- 1 pair of socks
- 1 pair of mittens
- 2 lace shawls
- 1 lace stole
- 1 scarf
- 1 Hanne Falkenberg cardigan
For other recipients (gifts):
- 1 pair of armwarmers
- 1 pair of mittens
- 2 purses
- 1 baby hat
- 1 pair of baby pants (technically not an FO, I still need to sew in some elastic)
Dear Husband is missing from this list, he preferrs not to receive a knitted item from me.

Knitting workshops :

- knitting with color - Brandon Mably workshop at Rowan Mills, Holmfirth, UK


- Alice Starmore workshop - 1day workshop in Nieuwpoort (Holland)


- Debbie Stoller and Nancy Merchant lectures in Rotterdam (Holland)

Knitting books :
I bought one book in Swedish on twined knitting. I like books that discuss specific techniques. I don't need another pattern book really. That's where knitting magazines are for. I have a subscription to Interweave knits, and occassionaly I buy Vogue knitting (or others), in the international magazine store in my home town.

Conclusion :
2006 was a good knitting year. Let's hope for the same in 2007. I'll keep you posted on this blog. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment !

Torino yarn store adresses

for anyone interested :
Mary has a review of a Torino weekend trip on her blog :
http://silverbellsallinarow.blogspot.com/2006/06/sweltering-in-foreign-parts.html
The store mentioned is :
Filati Effegiesse
C. So G.Cesare 182
10154 Torino
Tel: 011 2462160

I found one in the suburbs :
Emporio della lana
45/bis Via Massaia Guglielmo Cardinale
10147 Torino
Tel: 011 251296

And another one more centrally located :
Filati Effegiesse
Via San Secondo 44
Torino
Tel : 011 5611363
This one had a nice window display of Xmassy yarns (red and green and sparkle yarns)

I hope this can be usefull for somebody, and I would love a report if you actually visit these yarn stores

Torino

Back from a short trip to Torino, to my surprise a very elegant baroque city (I always thought about it a being a big industrial city). It really is a city to stroll around, with all those beautifull arcades. Unfortunately, the weather was not so good : cold (sometimes very cold), and misty.
There is a lot to see indoor, so that wasn't really a problem. I liked the Egyptian museum, and the pinacoteca of the Agnelli family in the Lingotto centre.
Due to the foggy weather, I didn't take much photos.I can show you this picture of a candy shop. Torino is filled with these kinds of shops !
I discovered that Torino is considered the chocolate capital of Italy, as in 'warm liquid drinkable chocolate'. Lots of stylish cafés, where you can drink 'bicerin', a mixture of coffee, hot chocolate and cream.
Did I find yarn ? I did check the Italian yellow pages on line. The category to check is 'filati-vendita all dettaglio' (yarn - retailers). What sounded the most interesting is the 'emporio della lana'. Two nice ladies in the tourist office helped me find the location, showed me which bus to take ... I ended up in a suburb, at the window display of a tiny shop. Not really an 'emporium'. The shop was closed, but the yarn looked interesting. Italian shops close for a big chunck at noon (1pm to 5pm). I tend to forget that.
So, I came home without any extra yarn, but with good memories of a very nice city.

jawbreaker cardigan progress

I have finished knitting the back of the jawbreaker cardigan. As I don't know if I will have enough yarn, I started with a provisional cast-on. I knitted the back, and then evaluated how much I had used, and then decided in what yarn to knit the border. I used this stripe sequence : 1 row of swedish grey yarn, 1 row of Phildar arome, 1 row of Annell bouclé, 1 row of Phildar arome. Doing this, I used double of the Phildar arome, the yarn I have the most of. To reduce in cutting strands of yarn, I knitted this on a circular needle (flat). I knitted in stockinette stitch, and have decided to use the wrong side as the good side.

The reverse stockinette makes it less stripey, the colors blend more into each other. I have used 1.5 ball of the Phildar arome, and not even one ball of the Anell bouclé. So it looks like I will have enough to finish ! Maybe I should have left out the grey yarn ? Anyway, I put this aside for a week, because I will be spending some time in Torino (Italy). I am looking forward to this short trip, and maybe I can even find some yarn stores ?

Jazz finished

I have finished knitting Jazz - a Hanne Falkenberg design. This is the first sweater I finish this year (of course I have knitted lots of small projects, and knitted and crocheted a blanket). This Hanne Falkenberg design is knitted from cuff to cuff, in a mosaic slip stitch pattern. At first it takes some concentration, but once the pattern has sunk in, it's fairly easy. It's a lot of knitting, but is was fun. I started this september 05, but I haven't touched it for 6 months or so, because of a frozen shoulder problem. This is 'Jazz 3', you can see it in different colors on Hanne Falkenbergs website. I have knitted 4 Falkenberg designs until now : Da Capo, Delta (this isn't on her website any longer), and La Strada. Every time I wear Da Capo or La Strada, I get compliments ! It takes some time before these garments get finished, mainly because it is small gauge knitting (3mm needles). That also means they are lightweight, so they are very wearable !

Working with 2 variegated yarns

I gave the mittens as a present on the X-mas gathering of our hobbyclub, and they were very well received ! As you could see in a previous post, I have worked these with 2 variegated yarns, held together. I always thought this would result in a colored mess, but in fact they came out gorgeous. The trick is to use 2 yarns that are close in color harmony, but are different in texture. I used 2 yarns that had shades of charcoal, navy, turquoise and hot pink in them. Some colors were not the same in both yarns, for instance there was some red in one yarn, en not in the other, but this was an accent color anyway. One yarn was plain wool, the other a lightweight mohair. Now the mohair gave the finished fabric a slight halo. The nice thing about it, is that the colors of the halo are sometimes different from the colors of the plain wool. I could get navy stitches with a hot pink halo, or pink stitches with a charcoal halo. It really, really worked well toghether. Too bad I don't have a good picture to show you !
This brings me to another subject : to me, blogging is about showing your work, so pictures are essential. Unfortunately, I am a lousy photograper. And because it is winter now, it's still dark when I leave in the morning, and already dark when I come back at night. So not much photo opportunities ! I need to take pictures in the weekend, or else I don't have nothing to show.

Ik heb de wanten als kadootje gegeven tijdens het kerstfeestje van mijn hobbyclub, en ze vielen in goede aarde (gelukkig). Zoals jullie konden zien in een vorige post, heb ik deze wanten gebreid met 2 draden gevlamd garen. Ik dacht altijd dat zoiets niet zou werken (veel te druk !), maar de wanten zijn echt schitterend geworden. De truuk is om 2 garens te gebruiken die gelijkaardige kleuren vertonen, maar een verschillende textuur hebben. Mijn 2 garens hadden donker grijs, marineblauw, turkoois, en felroze als kleuren. Sommige kleuren waren niet volledig gelijk, er was wat zwart en fel rood in 1 garen dat niet in het andere garen terug kwam, maar dit waren eerder 'accent'kleuren’. 1 garen was gewone wol, het andere garen was een heel dunne mohair draad. De mohair zorgde ervoor dat het gebreide weefsel een 'halo' vertoonde (lichtkrans ? stralenkrans ? aureool ? gloed ?). Erg geslaagd is dat de steken soms een halo van een andere kleur had, bvb. marineblauw met een felroze gloed, of donkergrijs met een rode gloed ...heel erg geslaagd. Jammer dat ik geen goede foto heb om te tonen.
Dit brengt me op het onderwerp 'foto's'. Bloggen betekent voor mij 'de mogelijkheid om mijn werk te tonen'. Jammer genoeg ben ik niet zo’n goede fotograaf. En in de winter heb ik haast geen zonlicht om te kunnen fotograferen. Ik moet er echt aan denken om in het weekend te fotograferen, want anders heb ik niks om te tonen !

jawbreaker cardigan

I also have been swatching for a 'bigger' project. I liked the 'jawbreaker cardigan' in the latest interweave knits (winter 2006). I have no yarn that works for this, but I have several that work together. I swatched, and it looks that I will get gauge with this combo. It's Phildar arome (a thick and thin mohair/wool/silk blend in variegated colors of rust and grey), Annell Lugano (a wool/mohair bouclé), and a double strand of grey Swedish yarn (see my post sept. 23d). I knitted this swatch in seed stitch, to break up the stripiness of working with 3 yarns. I am only worried that this add too much bulk to the fabric, working with yarns that are already bulky. I'll have to think a bit more about this.
And there is another problem. How to know if I will have enough ? I have 6 balls of Phildar (300g), 3 balls of Annell (150g), and 2 balls of swedish yarn (200g). The swatch is knitted in 1 row of each yarn. Clearly that won't work, as I have double the amount of yarn in Phildar then in Anell. And working a double strand of grey yarn cuts down in what's available also. Decisions, decisions ...

smaller projects (mittens, scarf)

I know I have been very quiet ... this was due to computer problems at home. More time for knitting ... I have been knitting up a storm, mainly on smaller projects. I finished a pair of super soft mittens. This was a gift from my secrect pal. Don't they look great ? I need to give several x-mas gifts, but I am keeping these for myself. The mittens are knitted with one strand of bluefaced leicester yarn, and one strand of mohair.

Sorry voor het stilzwijgen, maar zonder computer is het moeilijk bloggen ... Het goede eraan is dat ik meer tijd had om te breien ! Ik heb vooral kleinere projectjes gebreid. Dit paar wanten is 'super soft mitts', met 2 draden gebreid (1 draad zachte wol, 1 draad mohair). Deze wanten hou ik zelf, de kleuren zijn echt helemaal mijn ding.




As I still needed a gift, I immediately started a new pair of mittens, with one strand of Mountain colors weavers quarters, and one strand of laceweight Colinette mohair. The colors work so nice together. I hope the lady who gets these, will love them too ! I don't know yet who will get them. In my hobbyclub, we were asked to bring a small gift, and I think it will be distributed randomly.

Maar eigenlijk wou ik een paar kadootjes maken. Ik ben dus maar direct een nieuw paar wanten begonnen. Ik heb hetzelfde patroon gebruikt als hierboven, maar ze vielen iets smaller uit, dus heb ik de nummertjes wat aangepast. Als je wanten breit, kan je ze geregeld aanpassen, en zo'n beetje op goed vallen uit herwerken. Deze zijn bestemd voor het kerstfeestje van de hobbyclub, dus weet ik nog niet wie de wanten gaat krijgen. Ik hoop maar dat de onbekende bestemmeling deze wanten apprecieert.



And the 3d small project I finished is a whimsical narrow scarf, knitted in Noro ribbon. I just knitted and knitted on 11 stitches, then made 2 crocheted flowers to finish it of. I was a bit over-enthousiastic knitting it, so it came out too long. Solved that by knotting it here and there. I am keeping this for myself, it's way too fun to give away.

Dit is een derde klein projectje, een supersmal sjaaltje in Noro lint. Ik heb gewoon een heel stuk gebreid op 11 steken, en daarna 2 bloemetjes gehaakt om het af te werken. Blijkbaar iets te enthousiast voortgebreid, want dit sjaaltje is wel heel lang geworden. Oplossing : hier en daar knopen. Simpel comme bonjour. Ik weet nog niet of ik dit wil weggeven, 't is eigenlijk veel te leuk geworden, en mijn moeder zie ik dit nog niet dragen.




And finally, I knitted a babyhat as a gift for a collegue, who just had a baby boy. The hat is started with a provisional cast-on, knitted in one direction, unpicked the cast-on and knit a second hat - et voilà : a double knitted hat (warm on the ears, because you have 4 layers of fabric there). I got this pattern in the 'free patterns' section of the Elann website.

Nog een laatste projectje : een babymutsje, dubbel gebreid, dus dubbel warm.

more lace knitting pictures

Monika asked what happened to my plan to knit more squares for the log-cabin blanket. I stopped knitting more blanket squares - my daughter liked it the way it was, so she has adopted the blanket. And the crochet blanket is in use by me. A lady friend sewed it on her sewing machine, so that the small squares and backing don't move independantly any longer. The only one needing a blanket now is my son. I might have to start another one, but right now I am knitting smaller things.
And as to the swallow tail shawl : a lady I know 'repaired' it. Unfortunately, the spot that has the mistake falls on my shoulder, a very obvious place to look at. This lady is very good at embroidery, and she embroidered a 'faux nupp', in a stitch called 'french knot' in Dutch. Not sure this stitch is called the same in English. Looks much better now ! I'll try to take a picture soon, but I want to reblock the shawl first. In the meantime, I show 2 pictures of older lace work (also pre-blog, but knitted this year). The red one is 'Ene's shawl' from 'Scarf Style', and the blue one is the 'Mystery Stole 2', an internet knit-along. The red one is knitted in the yarn called for, blackberry ridge lace weight wool/silk blend (a gift from Jane in Texas), dyed with kool-aid. The blue yarn is a very fine weaving yarn I bought in Stockholm last summer (Klippan-Berga 'Mora').

Monika vroeg wat er met mijn katoenen lapjesdeken is gebeurd. Gelukkig hoef ik geen lapjes meer te breien, want mijn dochter Winnie vond deze deken wel goed, dus die is nu in gebruik. En de gehaakte deken werd vakkundig doorgestikt door Katrien, zodat de voering en het deken niet meer zo over elkaar schuiven. Alleen Kwinten zou nu nog wel een deken kunnen gebruiken, maar ik hou de boot nu even af.
En het driehoekige sjaaltje werd gerepareerd. Josée kan goed borduren, en heeft er met de franse knoopsteek een bobbeltje op geborduurd. Jammer genoeg kan ik nu geen foto tonen, maar ik wil het sjaaltje eerst terug opspannen. Ondertussen 2 foto's van vroeger werk : de rode is 'Ene's shawl' uit het boek 'scarf style', en de blauwe is 'Mystery stole 2' een internetproject. De rode wol heb ik zelf geverfd met Amerikaans limonadepoeder (blackberry ridge lace weight wool/silk). De blauwe wol is eigenlijk een garen om te weven, en die heb ik gekocht in Stockholm, zomer 2005

I started this shawl somewhere in september (before I started blogging), and was struggling with the nupps (p5tog). Not much fun ! The yarn (knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in Tidepool) is beautifull, but also very slippery on a metal needle. And I needed to knit this on a metal needle, because I had to use very sharp points to execute the P5tog ! Somewhere last week I decided to take this project up again (I want to finish some smaller projects lying around). Instead of P5tog, I used sl2, P3tog, slip psso. This was advised to me by the lady at 'knitting ajour'. It wasn't easy either, and I had the feeling that only on the last rows of the pattern I finally managed even and consistent nupps. I chalked it up as a learning experiment (I consider myself a very beginning lace knitter). Only when I blocked it, I found a glaring mistake ! Can you see it ? What happened is (I think) I must have missed several strands of yarn for the nupp. So now I have a tangled mess where a nupp should be. Anybody knows a good remedy for this ? Can I repair this, even if the shawl is already of the needles ? Any hints and tips are welcome !

Ik startte dit driehoekig sjaaltje ergens in september (nog voor ik een blog had). Het patroon kan je vinden in 'Interweave Knits', herfst 2006 (http://www.interweave.com/knit/interweave_knits/preview/2006_fall.asp). Het is ontworpen door Evelyne Clark, een ontwerpster die prachtig kantbreiwerk ontwerpt. Dit ontwerp lukte niet zo goed, enerzijds door het moeilijke manoeuvre 'brei 5 steken samen averechts', en ook door het prachige alpacagaren, dat heel erg slipperig was. Ik gebruikte een zeer scherpe metalen naald (2mm) om de 5 steken samen te breien, maar dat zorgde dat er nogal eens steken van mijn naald gleden ! Niet leuk.
Vorige week besloot ik het nog eens te proberen (ik wil sowieso enkele rondliggende kleinere projecten uit de weg hebben). Op aanraden van 'knitting ajour' haalde ik eerst 2 steken af, dan 3 averechts samenbreien, en daarna de 2 afgehaalde steken overhalen. Nog steeds niet makkelijk, pas bij de laatste rijen had ik het gevoel dat alles zo'n beetje in de plooi viel. Ik beschouw mezelf toch als een beginnende kantbreister, dus ik heb nog heel wat te leren. Pas nadat ik het sjaaltje opgespeld had, merkte ik een grote fout. Kunnen jullie het zien ? Ik moet ergens verschillende draden hebben laten vallen toen ik een bobbel probeerde te breien. Weet iemand een oplossing hiervoor ? Het sjaaltje is al afgekant, alle tips welkom !

knitting on the road

When travelling to Nieuwpoort and Rotterdam last week, I spent a lot of hours on the train and bus. I like to take a small project with me, and for me simple socks are the perfect travel project. My son likes handknitted socks, but restricts it to black, grey or blue. I am always looking for interesting sock yarns in these colors ! This one is Lana Grossa meilenweit mega boot stretch. It is a bit heavier sock weight, and surprisingly loosely plied. I wonder how it will wear. If I want to know a bit more about a yarn, I check the Wiseneedle yarn review site. I see that this yarn is reviewed once, and that the knitter had the same remarks as I have.

Vorige week veel op de trein gezeten, en dan neem ik graag een klein breiproject mee voor onderweg. De reis naar Rotterdam duurde haast 4 uur, omdat er enerzijds werken aan de sporen waren dat weekend, en men besloten had een Thalys-rampenoefening te doen ! Wat betekende dat we in Roosendaal doodleuk te horen kregen dat er geen machinist was om met de trein te rijden.
Als reisproject neem ik meestal sokken mee : ik ken een basispatroon uit mijn hoofd, en 't is klein, draagbaar en niet veel afwerking nodig. Deze zijn voor mijn zoon (maat 46), in Meilenweit Mega Boot Stretch. Dit is een beetje zwaarder dan normale sokkenwol, en bevat lycra. Een beetje raar gevoel om mee te breien. Je vindt een bespreking van dit garen op de Wiseneedle site (heel informatief, maar kurkdroog !). Dit is in Kwinten zijn favoriete kleuren : zwart, blauw, grijs. Hij zou eigenlijk alleen zwarte sokken willen, maar in een maat 46 is me dat toch een beetje te veel gevraagd als blijk van moederliefde.

Stitch and bitch Rotterdam - workshops

As mentioned in my previous post, I went to the Dutch 'stitch and bitch' event in Rotterdam. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole event; especially the broad range of workshops and lectures. I don't think I need to tell more about the event itselft, you can read about it here and here . Maybe better to talk about the workshops ?

I took 'the stitch doctors tricks and secrets' with Debbie Stoller , and 'Color Confidence' with Nancy Marchant.

Debbie Stoller is infinitely funny, and also a good teacher. She showed us how to ladder down a stitch, and pick it up with a crochet hook, how to rework a cable that was twisted the wrong way, and how to lengthen a garment topdown. It doesn't sound like we learned much, but we only had one hour, and it was a hands-on workshop. And Debbie made sure everybody could actually do it, walking around and checking our swatches, saying things like 'put the patient on the operating table, doctors take your scalpels, any surviving patients ?' I know I am very visual learner, so this was a nice workshop (but too short !). Lots of pictures of Debbie in Rotterdam, I won't show a headless Debbie here.
I also followed a lecture by Debbie Stoller, where she talked about her book on crochet.


Nancy Marchant (see pictures - I know they are a bit dark, but worth clicking on) gave a very thorough lecture about color, color theory and how to use color in knitwear. She is both a graphic and a knitwear designer, and that showed.


I have learned that brown is a good unifying color, because it is a combination of several colors itself. I love brown, so that's a good thing to know. Maybe that's why my knitted log-cabin blanket works, colorwise ? There is a lot of brown in it, and the border is a reddish brown also ! And I learned to look at colors and the different undertones - is this a cool red (with a bit of blue in it), or a warm red (more yellow/orange in it) ? I don't use a color wheel that much, I like to select color instinctively, but it sure can be usefull to know the theory behind it. I still believe that color is something personal though!

All in all : it was impressive to see so many knitters together, in a great atmosphere. I would like to see more opportunities to follow more intensive workshops (3 hour workshop, or even a whole day ?). But then they would need to make it a weekend event, instead of just one day !

Ik heb een beetje een fundamenteel probleem met de tweetaligheid van deze blog. Sommige onderwerpen worden echt te lang als ik het ook nog eens in het nederlands doe... Ik wil met deze blog communiceren met de brede breiwereld, en natuurlijk begrijpen er meer breisters Engels dan mijn moedertaal... Eigenaardig genoeg is mijn 'breitaal' ondertussen ook Engels geworden, dankzij het internet en de breilijst en een abonnement op Interweave knits. Hopelijk doe ik hier niemand tekort mee, laat maar via de commentaren weten wat jullie ervan vinden.
... In elk geval blijf ik wel in het Nederlands schrijven voor de kortere stukjes (en misschien hebben jullie ook al gemerkt dat het Nederlandse stukje niet altijd een exacte vertaling is van het voorgaande, dus op die manier hebben de Nederlandssprekenden onder ons toch een streepje voor ...)

more on the Alice Starmore workshop

Just a bit more about my trip to Nieuwpoort (Holland), where I attended an Alice Starmore workshop. Nieuwpoort is a lovely small town in Zuid-Holland. I especially enjoyed the bus ride over the 'Lekdijk' (along the river Lek). I saw lots of old giant farmhouses with thatched roofs.
I appreciated how 'de schapekop' organized everything. The shop was very organized and inviting too !
And the workshop : what did I learn ? You can see my swatch. We were asked to pick out our own color scheme, and write out line by line what we were planning to knit. Alice Starmore told us to pick one color family for the background colors, and another one for the pattern colors. The central row (row 9 in this pattern); could be something else completely, that would still work with both color groups. She also pointed out that the pattern is very symmetrical, it is mirrored around the central row.
I had a difficult time selecting colors. I had a big bag of leftovers of my crochet blanket, but several of those yarns are very bright. I liked the muted colors Alice Starmore uses in most of her designs, and was trying to achieve the same in my swatch. Selecting colors, knitting 2handed fair-isle and following the chart at the same time was a bit much to handle, so I am not too pleased with the outcome, but I have learned a lot from it.
This is what I used (B = background and P = pattern)

row 1 = plain row - dark eggplant
row 2 = P = green/blue mix - B = dark eggplant
row 3 = P = green/blue mix - B = dark eggplant
row 4 = P = green/blue mix - B = light eggplant
row 5 = P = sand - B = light eggplant
row 6 = P = sand - B = light eggplant
row 7 = P = light khaki - B = nutmeg
row 8 = P = light khaki - B = nutmeg
row 9 = P = orange - B = salmon
and reverse everything

Alice Starmore advised to change the background and pattern colors NOT on the same row, to get a very gradual change of colors. Unfortunately, I started with 2 background colors that were so close, that you cannot see the changes (2 shades of eggplant).
I also don't like the transition of the green/blue mix into the sand color. Maybe I should have used the light khaki there instead, because it has a little bit of the green in it.
And the centre row has to stand out, but this one stands out far too much. I am pleased with the general feel of the swatch tough (not with the knitting). I wanted rich, muted colors, and that's what I got. I would need to knit several more swatches to come out with something that works, but it is do-able. I haven't asked how many swatches Alice Starmore knits, but I bet she doesn't stop after the first one. And she mixes her own yarn, so she has her own palette.
Back home I went back to my bookshelf to see what I have on fair-isle and color theory. I don't have Alice Starmores book on fair-isle knitting, but I do have her 'Celtic collection'. And another fabulous book on my shelf is Ann Feitelsons fair-isle knitting book , with a very good chapter on selecting colors.
Also on my book shelf : Sheila McGregors book on fair-isle . It has a lot of patterns, not for garments, but just black-and-white charts.

SP9 gifts

Yesterday, when I was away, my package from my SP9 arrived. She lives in Canada, and sent me the most wonderfull, color coordinated package. In it a kit from fleece artist (http://www.fleeceartist.com/colourideas.html), to knit a pair super soft mitts or socks. The fleece artist yarn feels so soft and nice ! I think there is some mohair in it, and blue face leicester yarn. I don't think I want to make socks out of it - way to nice yarn, I would be afraid to ruin it, walking on it. Of course, a pair of warm mittens is always welcome. I might knit those.
And there is sock yarn from Coliz fiber arts (http://www.nightshaderose.com/e-liz/yarns.php). I love the sock yarn - those colors are soo me. I like variegated yarns that are close in color harmony, and I love brown, so this reddish/brown/marroon is perfect. I'll have to check out that website, and find the perfect pattern for these. I also wonder if socks is the best choice. You wouldn't see the beautifull yarn ! Maybe a lace scarf ?And there was canadian candy (maple leaf shaped) and lip balm too !
I still have a lot to blog about, because yesterday I went to 'stitch and bitch' in Rotterdam, where I attended a workshop with Debbie Stoller. And I want to finish the homework Alice Starmore gave us, and what I learned from that !

Mijn pakje van mijn geheim vriendje 9 is gearriveerd, helemaal uit Canada. Ze heeft me een pakje met een kleurenthema gezonden. De kleuren zijn zo mooi, dat ze echt niet goed op de foto doorkomen. 't Zijn allemaal tinten bordeaux/rose/fuchsia/bruin. 1 bolletje (100g, te breien op 5mm) is goed voor super zachte sokken of wanten, van 'fleece artist' in Canada. Veel te mooie wol om sokken van te breien, daar zou ik de wol mee ruineren. Dikke wanten lijken me wel leuk. En er is ook heel fijne sokkenwol, helemaal mijn kleuren (er zit nog wat meer bruin in). Alhoewel het sokkenwol is, voel ik toch meer iets voor een mooie kanten sjaaltje. En er waren ook nog snoepjes en lippenzalf.
Ik heb nog heel wat om over te bloggen. Gisteren ben ik naar Rotterdam gegaan, waar de 'stitch en bitch'dag doorging. Ik heb er een workshop met Debbie Stoller gevolgd. En ik wil het huiswerk nog afwerken dat Alice Starmore ons gegeven heeft,en vertellen wat ik daar uit geleerd heb !

alice starmore workshop

I was away the last 2 days, so I am a bit late to blog again.
Actually, it was 2 days filled with knitting. I traveled to the smallest city in Holland, called Nieuwpoort. The strange thing is that they have the most amazing yarnshop there, called the 'schaapskop' (the sheeps head). You can check it out at ' www.deschapekop.nl'.
They organized a workshop with Alice Starmore. In the morning she gave a workshop about 2color knitting. She taught us how to plan a color scheme, and how to knit 2handed fair-isle. Then she showed us the construction of a traditional fair-isle garment knit in the round. It was the very first time that I saw somebody actually cut a whole sweater ! In the afternoon she held a lecture about her influences, the landscape of the isle of Lewis, the Celtic heritage ... Interesting, but I would have to preferred more worktime, and less lecture. Anyhow, it was very good. Also the organisation of the workshop by the yarn shop was excellent. It was held in a beautifull old building, and there were tea and scones and sandwiches ... I had to travel 3 hours to get there (by public transport) but it was worth it.


Ben een beetje later dan gepland, maar dat heeft te maken met een reisje dat ik net gemaakt heb. Ik ben naar de kleinste stad van Nederland gereisd, nl. Nieuwpoort. Ze organiseerden daar in 'De schapekop' een workshop met Alice Starmore, een Schotse brei-ontwerpster. Ze leerde ons hoe een kleurenschema te plannen, en hoe 2kleuren breien te doen met een kleur in elke hand. Dan toonde ze hoe de traditionele fair-isle truien in het rond gebreid worden. Eigenlijk brei je dus een grote buis, en daarna worden ze opengeknipt waar de mouwen en de halsopening komen. Ik had er al over gelezen, maar nu heb ik dus live iemand een hele trui zien openknippen !
's Namiddags was er een diashow over de invloeden die ze gebruikt bij haar ontwerpen - het landschap op het eiland Lewis, de Keltische cultuur ... Erg interessant, maar ik had liever nog wat meer 'breitijd' gehad. De ganse organisatie van de dag door de Schapekop was buitengewoon verzorgd. Het ging door in het Arsenaal aan de buitenhaven, een mooi oud gebouw. En er was voortdurend eten : cakejes en sandwiches en scones; en grote potten thee - ze bleven dus wel in het Schotse thema. Met het openbaar vervoer was het 3uur rijden, maar het was heel erg de moeite.

slow progress

As my wrist is still bothering me, my knitting progress has been slow. All I can show you guys is one finished sock. I do like it (sorry for the not so good picture). You can see a better picture in my oct 13th post. It starts out with a small band of 'narrow cable and twist' pattern, knitted flat. Then you graft it in the round, and pick up stitches from that cuff, to knit the lacey cable rib. And best of all, it really fits. As it is getting colder, it's time to wear handknit socks again. And these are for me ! My children like handknit socks, but are perfectly happy with 'simple' socks. The patterned yarns are the best to knit a simple pattern without it getting boring for me. And of course, those socks go faster then this kind of cabled sock with a special construction.

back home

My bathroom is being renovated, and there is autumn break here, so we decided to leave the house for a week ... Now I am back home, the plumber has made good progress, but the house is still a mess. I went to see a doctor about my sore wrist. To diagnose wether or not I have carpal tunnel syndrome, they put electric voltage shocks trough your wrists... not painfull, but really uncomfortable. Apparantly, I do have some nerve damage, but nothing severe. I should rest, take painkillers and ice it. Just what I have been doing all along !
On the afghan front good news : my daughter has decided she likes it, and it's the perfect size for her. So I am finished knitting this log-cabin afghan !

Mijn badkamer wordt gerenoveerd, en we hebben herfstvakantie, zo we besloten het huis te verlaten voor een week. Nu ben ik terug, de loodgieter heeft goed doorgewerkt, maar het huis is nog een puinhoop. Ik ging ook naar de dokter ivm mijn zere pols. Om vast te stellen of je al dan niet carpaal tunnel syndroom hebt sturen ze electrische schokken door je pols (carpaal tunnel is een ingeklemde zenuw). Ze zien dan of je zenuwen nog de electriciteit volledig geleiden (of zoiets). Het onderzoek is niet pijnlijk, maar wel vervelend. Blijkt dat de zenuw nog altijd genoeg geleidt ('op het randje' zei de dokter). In elk geval moet er nu nog niks ernstig gebeuren, ijs, pijnstillers en rust moeten oplossing bieden.
Goed nieuws van het dekentjesfront : mijn dochter heeft besloten dat zij de deken wel goed vindt, dus die is nu in gebruik. Geen katoenen vierkantjes meer breien voor mij !